Roots Run Deep
by CappyT
Summary: This is a story of basically the beginning of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It is based around Sarutobi and the Legendary Sannin when they were genin as well as the Leaders of the Village. Please enjoy! rate too!


**Prologue: Hiruzen**

The war had been a tiresome one and had lasted years upon years. Shinobi traveled with their clans. One clan was feared above all though: the Senju of the Forest. The leader of this mighty clan was a man named Hashirama. He wielded a mighty kekkei genkai (or blood line trait) which allowed him to create and manipulate Wood by combining Earth and Water chakras.

The Senju weren't untouchable though, they had a sole rival: the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan's special weapon was their Sharingan which allowed them to predict their opponents next moves and copy them flawlessly. Their leader Madara Uchiha was a murderous assassin who went as far as to murder his best friend to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan (which had even more special powers) as well as cutting out his own brothers eyes in order to retain his Mangekyo Sharingan (which would eventually cause the owner to go blind). These two main factions in the war were what kept the balance of power.

However, after one bloody battle against the Uchiha Clan, Hashirama was approached by a man who seemed to be worn from the battle just a little more than the rest of the warriors. His headband and armor bore a square with four different symbols in it.

"I am Sasuke Sarutobi, leader of the Sarutobi clan." The man used common courtesy by introducing himself first. Hashirama liked and respected that.

"My name is Hashirama Senju of the Forest, leader of the Senju Clan." He replied in turn and then asked "why are you here, Sasuke-san. And where is your clan?"

"I am here because my men and I wish to form an alliance." At these words, a group of about thirty shinobi appeared along with a few non-shinobi relatives lagging behind and appearing gradually.

"I see." mused Hashirama "and what would my men and I get out of this?"

"Well, we may not be that great in numbers, but my clan is extremely proficient with mastering powerful jutsu." Sasuke then formed a series of hand signs, shouted "Lightning style: Lightning Crasher Jutsu!" and sent a beam of what appeared to by lightning out of his hand. The beam struck a nearby pile of rocks and incinerated them.

"Impressive!" said Hashirama. "And each of the thirty men before me possess jutsu like the one you've just displayed?"

"More-or-less." replied Sasuke.

"Intriguing. You and your men shall accompany us into battle tomorrow and, if you prove you are trustworthy, we shall ally."

"Th-thank you, Lord Senju." the Sarutobi patriarch said as he bowed.

"Please," said Hashirama as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder "you mustn't be so formal. Call me Hashirama. I am a man just like everyone else here. Each one of us here is fighting for one purpose and one purpose only: peace and unity. We all wish to see this war end and have some stability. That was the wish of my old mentor."

Sasuke looked up into Hashirama's eyes and saw that the man was being true and honest. "Thank you, then, Hashirama-san."

"Tonight," Hashirama announced to his men "these people before us are our honored guest. After tomorrow's battle, they may be our long-term allies. Let's show them how hospitable the Senju clan is to their allies. Tonight, we feast!" as he finished this statement the entire Senju clan applauded.

That night there was a great feast where Lord Hashirama slaughtered a few of his best livestock and had them cooked over an open fire. He introduced Sasuke to his wife Kimiko and his brother Tobirama. Sasuke then introduced his sister Saiya and his wife Hinao who was pregnant and expecting any day now. Hashirama knew he liked this clan immediately.

The next morning, at around 3:00 AM, Lord Hashirama had a messenger go awaken the Sarutobi Clan and roused up his own men. They met in the midst of the camp and set to work on a plan. Since the Sarutobi had a lot of big destructive jutsu, they would attack head first and take out as many of the Uchiha as possible, while the Senju would hide in the shadows and cover their backs. For each Sarutobi warrior there were three Senju.

The alliance headed out. Sasuke led his men head on into the Uchiha camp. Jutsu of every different shape, size, and element were unleashed upon the Uchiha. Madara leapt from his tent and drew his huge fan and his katana. Madara was said to have once been a mighty Samurai until one day his eyes were transformed into a blood red color with black marks around the iris. Although, this power was to be expected from the grandson of the Sage of Six Paths who possessed the Rinnegan, a special eye condition, of his own.

Unfortunately for Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were also his cousins. They inherited their father's father's physical strength and stamina. But the Uchiha were not lacking. Also the Uchiha had their Sharingan to counterbalance that strength.

Madara blew forth a mighty burst of wind with his fan and then unleashed a mighty fireball to scorch the land. A wall of water was summoned forth at the last minute just in front of the Sarutobi Clan's forces stopping the fire courtesy of Hashirama's younger brother, and Water Jutsu expert, Tobirama.

Madara landed and his men scrambled into battle-ready formations. They had been expecting an attack, but had no clue when it would be and they least expected the assault to come from such a small clan as the Sarutobi. This certainly was a surprise. "So," Madara mused to himself, "The Sarutobi Clan has decided to attack us now, hm? Tell me," he shouted out to their leader "Have you decided your powerful jutsu would be enough to destroy us or are you backed by something more, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't reply. The wall of water dropped and Sasuke and his men unleashed all their Jutsu on the Uchiha Clan. Madara casted a barrier around him and his army and so as the blasts came they stopped short of their marks. Madara laughed his deep, baritone laugh.

His laugh stopped short as the barrier was broken by a powerful smash of a giant, tan claw. A giant sand-colored raccoon with bloodthirsty eyes appeared before Madara and his men. "Ah, the One-tailed Shukaku, eh?" Madara said. "Well, well, it appears you _do _have help after all, Sasuke." He smiled a wicked smile at the Sarutobi Clan. "Too bad for you it's not good enough." Madara leapt into the air and landed a sharp kick to the One-tails' face. The beast let out a loud squealing howl and blanched.

The raccoon swung its tail wildly knocking aside Uchiha after Uchiha. Madara dug his blade into the fox's back ran along the beast's spine causing it to howl louder. It then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Poor Hashirama, it's too bad you couldn't defeat me with this pitiful beast." The head of the Uchiha clan shouted as he glided to the ground on his fan. The instant he touched the ground he was greeted by a slash from Hashirama's kunai which he parried with his katana. Hashirama then swung another kunai out at him with his other hand. Madara leaped back to avoid the strike just to be stabbed in the back by Sasuke's kunai.

Madara's eyes widened and then he smiled and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Shadow clone." Sasuke spat.

Madara appeared behind Sasuke and thrust his blade into his back- or he would have had Sasuke not leapt into the air, spring boarded off of Madara's blade and kicked him in the face sending him stumbling backwards. Sasuke landed and launched a barrage of shuriken at Madara who turned into a log as he was struck.

"Damn it!" yelled Sasuke "another trick!"

"Yes." replied Hashirama, "the Uchiha Clan is good for that. Their Genjutsu is some of the best in the world."

"Heh, well against our forces they'll have to do better than that."

"I would hope so." smiled Hashirama.

The battle was underway. Senju and Sarutobi fought tooth-and-nail with the merciless Uchiha Clan. Shuriken were launched, kunai slashed and flung, Jutsu exchanged and blocked, swords clashed. Blood was shed over and over again until the battlefield turned to crimson. The Sarutobi forces, being heavily defended by Senju, had lost only five men, the Sarutobi forces had lost a third of its members and the Uchiha clan had suffered about as bad as the Senju.

In the end, Madara was forced to think of his men and retreat for the day. The sun was beginning to go down and his men had been fighting nonstop since dawn. They needed to replenish their strength and weaponry.

There was a sigh of relief from both sides. The fighting had finally stopped for the day. Suddenly a messenger appeared before Sasuke.

"What?! Really?!" he asked astonished.

"Yes, sir." the messenger smiled proudly.

"Kalla," Hashirama addressed the head medic "take Sasuke to his wife and sister."

"Yes sir." She replied with a salute.

A cry cut through the crisp night air. Folks gathered all around to see this miracle. Even the Hashirama and Tobirama couldn't help but get front row seats. Among all the death and chaos of the day, life had also been wrought. Sasuke's wife Hinao had given birth to a baby boy.

"Well, Sasuke," said Tobirama "what are you going to name him?"

"I think Hiruzen is a good name.

"Hiruzen?" asked Tobirama who, by this point, had taken a great liking to this man.

"Yes. Broken down it means 'Good Day' or "Whole Flame'."

"I think it's a lovely name." sighed Hinao.

"Then it's settled." Sasuke smiled at his wife.

"I still don't get the name." said Tobirama confused.

"Well, today was a good day, I mean, we made it out of that battle in almost one piece and our men fought well." replied Sasuke. "Also, 'Whole Flame' reflects what I call 'The Will of Fire'."

"The 'Will of Fire'?" asked Hashirama who now became interested.

"Yes. It is my personal belief. It is what I hope for the whole world to understand." replied Sasuke "'The Will of Fire' is that a true Shinobi should love, cherish, and fight for their clan and what they and their clan believes in. I believe each and every Shinobi should feel this way. The Country of Fire has been launched into chaos and I think it's time we settle down. The sooner either the Senju or Uchiha claim victory, the better."

"But why choose our side?" asked Tobirama. Everyone else in the room was silent and each person seem fully interested in what the Sarutobi patriarch's reply would be.

"Because our goals seem to coincide and, if anyone deserves to carry on the 'Will of Fire' it is definitely your brave and noble clan who has fought so valiantly for this country."

"It's settled then." said Hashirama "from this day forth; the Sarutobi and Senju are allies. We will make sure this little one- Hiruzen- will get to see a better day.

"Thank you, Hashirama." Sasuke said as joy flooded his face.

"No problem," Tobirama responded for his brother "it's what friends do, right."

"Right." smiled Sasuke. _Friends…_

As the next couple of months went by, the battles became bloodier and more and more clans became involved. Joining the Senju side were the Akimichi Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and the Inuzuka Clan. Joining the Uchiha forces were the Aburame clan, the Yamanaka Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Kurama Clan.

These two armies- for that's what they were- faced off time and time again. Each time more blood was shed and more lives lost. Elite groups were formed among each army. Madara and Hashirama each had their own elite squads. Hashirama, Tobirama, Sasuke, and Hitagatsu the leader of the Hyuga Clan formed the 'Houkamune'. Madara Uchiha, Mushimaru Aburame, Kageshi Nara, and Fuin Kurama formed the 'Akatsuki'. These two elite squads faced off over three dozen times before the war was ended.

How the war ended is a sad tale indeed. The Sarutobi Clan was beginning to dwindle. Hell, every clan was starting to dwindle into nothing. The Sarutobi Clan only had five able-bodied shinobi left though. Despite this, Sasuke stayed strong.

Hashirama led his squad out into the heat of battle. Akatsuki was on the move again. They had already slain three squads on their own in this battle. "Enough is enough, Madara!" shouted Sasuke over the roar of battle.

"Indeed. It's time for me to finish this." replied Madara smartly.

"HAAAA!" Sasuke roared as he unleashed a massive serpent made of lightning upon Madara and his squad. A swarm of insects rose up and attacked Hashirama and Tobirama who unleashed Wood and Water to fight them off. Hitagatsu activated his Byakugan and launched himself boldly at Mushimaru Aburame and severed each of his chakra points so he could no longer control his insects or use any other jutsu.

Tobirama drew a hilt which he infused with chakra causing a golden blade to shimmer and sparkle forth with electrical energy. The Sword of Raijin was a weapon he had obtained in a battle against a ninja from the Land of Lightning in a battle to the death and it was his prized possession. He leapt into the air and launched a torrent of water at Akatsuki soaking them and causing them to scatter. He then slashed at Fuin Kurama who dodged. Just as Tobirama was about to turn and slay Fuin, Kageshi caught him in a Shadow Bind Jutsu. Madara rushed at Tobirama and thrust his blade at his heart. Sasuke leapt between the two warriors and took the blade instead.

"S-Sasuke…" Tobirama managed to utter "NO!"

Hashirama launched himself at Kageshi and bashed him in the face releasing the jutsu. Tobirama moved with lightning fast speed and severed Kageshi's head from his shoulders then he launched himself at Kurama whom he stabbed in the heart.

"N-no… It mustn't end like… this…" coughed Sasuke. "There must be peace… The… Will… of Fire…" Madara pulled his blade out and Sasuke fell to the ground dead.

"Madara…" Hashirama said as he stared into the face of his adversary. "This has to end. I'd like to form an alliance."

"Hahaha." Madara laughed. "Why on earth would I form an alliance with scum like you?"

"Well, for one, we 'scum' just happened to wipe out your entire squad."

"Good point. But I think I'll decline."

"Please…" said Tobirama "talk it over with your men. Think of their families and children."

"Very well, I shall consult my men. We do everything as a unit anyway." And with that he marched back to his men.

"Well, my Clan agrees as do all the others. They are weary of battle. Let our battle ground be the foundation of our settlement. What do you think?" said Madara.

_Peace has finally come. _Thought Tobirama. _Now there will be a better future for all the people of this new 'Village'. Grow up to be strong and bold like your father. Inherit his 'Will of Fire', Hiruzen._


End file.
